Automatic washing machines have long become an indispensable attribute of the comfortable life of a modern person. Older generations no longer even want to remember that clothes were once washed by hand. And the new generation may not even know that this happens. No need to. There are “smart” home appliances for doing laundry.
She works - we rest. Of course, everything is convenient and wonderful. But this happens as long as the washing machine operates without failures or malfunctions. But, unfortunately, they are quite possible. Often, problems and malfunctions can occur not even due to the fault of the washing machine, but due to external factors affecting its operation.
One of these factors is the quality of tap water in our pipes. Hard water, and even with various impurities, invariably leads to increased scale formation on the surface of the heating element.
Sooner or later this will cause it to break. And the instability of our electrical networks can damage the heating element of a washing machine. Of course, you can wash with cold water, but the quality of such washing is unlikely to satisfy anyone.
What is the way out? Yes, you just need to replace the faulty heating element with a new one. At the service center, the technician announced the price, and you understand that it is expensive? We don't need such a master. We will replace the heating element ourselves. Let's look at how this is done further.
What tools may be needed
- Screwdrivers of various configurations or a screwdriver with a set of bits (hexagons or asterisks may be useful). Different configurations, because some manufacturers use “tricky” screws that cannot be unscrewed with a regular screwdriver. This is how manufacturers try to tie any type of repair to their service center. Naive.
- Pliers or a ten-socket wrench. We will unscrew the heater mount.
- If you want to verify the final loss of the heating element, you can prepare a tester.
Recommendations and tips
- When replacing the heater, it is very important to install it in the same place and secure it correctly. If the part is lower than its intended place, when it heats up, the tank may be damaged, which will lead to water leakage. Hang it higher - both the drum and the heating will be damaged. Also pay attention to the correct connection of the wires.
- To make your water heater last longer, use special water softeners. They will not get rid of scale at all, but they will reduce the likelihood of its occurrence.
- To prevent the spare part from overheating and burning due to scale, select the average washing temperature.
We provide access to the heating element of the washing machine
First of all, you need to decide on which side of your washing machine the heating element is located. For example, Samsung, Bosch and Siemens have it in the front of the tank under the front panel of the machine. And Indesit and Ariston have a cover on the back. How to determine what type of car you have? Yes, it’s not difficult at all.
All cars with a rear-mounted heating element have a removable hatch on the back side, which is held on by several screws. Just open the back cover of the washing machine and inspect the bottom of the tank. There, not far from the engine, you will immediately notice the outer side of the heating element with a nut in the middle and power and ground wires.
If there is no heater there or the back wall of your car is blank, you will have to look for the heating element under the front wall. And for this we need to dismantle this wall. How? Let's look at it now.
Let's look at the example of a Bosch machine. For other brands the process is completely similar. Go!
Removing the top cover
You need to unscrew a couple of screws on the back and pull the cover back towards you and up a little. Don't overdo it, you can break off the plastic clips, without them the lid won't fit back straight.
Causes of heating element failure
Not a single manufacturer of washing machines produces all the components themselves; a significant part of them is made at related enterprises to order. As a result, the risks of supplying low-quality goods increase. Responsible manufacturers send their representatives to suppliers to monitor the entire process and check products on site, and hacks buy what is cheaper. As a result, the heating elements fail. This is the main cause of breakdowns. But there are also objective factors related to operating conditions.
- The heating element coil or control sensor has burned out. In villages, the voltage in the network often jumps; due to strong winds, wires on overhead power lines may overlap. The result is that the voltage instead of 220 V is 380 V. Either the heating element, or the automation, or all together burns out.
One of the causes of failure may be a burnt-out spiral
- Poor water quality. Very often, water has a high concentration of calcium; at high temperatures it hardens and settles on the surface of the heating element. Calcium greatly impairs heat transfer, which significantly reduces heating efficiency. But these are not all the problems created by calcium solids. They provoke a significant increase in the heating temperature of the nichrome spiral; it is not designed for such modes and quickly burns out. The high temperature of the heating coil causes the metal casing to overheat - it also burns out.
Calcium deposits are most often the cause of heating element failure
Removing the control panel of the washing machine
First, we take out the cuvette for the powder - pull it out, press the button inside and finally pull it out. For models that do not have a locking key in the cuvette, pull it all the way, slightly up and out of the grooves.
Two or three screws become visible. We delete them. Now you need to unscrew the remaining screws that hold the control panel in place. They can be on top or on the sides. After unscrewing these screws, carefully remove the panel. We leave it hanging on the wires. For convenience, let's put the panel up.
Separate the hatch cuff
To do this, open the door of the washing machine. Take a screwdriver and carefully pry up the spring clamp that secures the rubber cuff. Remove the clamp by pulling it in a circle. Now we remove the rubber from the body of the front wall of the washing machine with our hands. The hatch lock can be secured with screws or latches. Unscrew or remove the clamps and push the lock inside.
Heater prevention
The correct replacement of the heating element of an Indesit washing machine also lies in the fact that after repair, maintenance of the tank is necessary to remove deposits accumulated there. There may be solid deposits in the tank in the form of scale, or undigested fats from clothing may be deposited in the form of mucus, which creates an unpleasant odor inside the Indesit machine.
Maintenance of the washing machine must be done at certain intervals, depending on the frequency of washing, temperature conditions and the quality of the water used.
The great convenience of machines with vertical loading is that they can be used to monitor the presence of unwanted deposits on the outer part of the drum through the loading hole and promptly clean them using chemical methods.
To prevent deposits in washing units, it is recommended:
- Install a salt filter-water softener in the break in the supply of used water and replace it in a timely manner;
- Use high-quality washing powders and gels;
- Periodically carry out scale prevention using special means. Removal methods such as vinegar and citric acid will remove accumulated deposits of scale and grease, but it is unknown how their chemical composition will affect the quality of rubber parts and seals of your unit;
- Do not overuse long washes at high temperatures. Modern detergents can effectively combat stains at low temperatures, thereby being gentle on fabrics without subjecting them to high heat treatments.
Removing the front panel of the washing machine
It is held in place by the same screws. First, unscrew the lower ones. For different car models, they can be located - at the very bottom of the case, under the decorative panel, near the drain filter, or at the bottom on the sides.
Let's go upstairs. And we also remove all the screws that may hold the wall. Let's check - have you unscrewed everything? Then we grab the front wall with our hands, remove it and set it aside. Before us is the entire internal contents of an automatic washing machine.
Replacing the heating element yourself
Well, we got access to the heater. All subsequent actions are absolutely similar and do not depend on which side of the machine the heating element is located on.
We have already decided that the heater is located at the bottom of the tank. If you are not completely sure that the heating element is faulty, you can ring it with a tester. Burnt out? Q.E.D. You will need to remove the wires from the contacts. They usually stay pretty tight. Just carefully tighten them with a screwdriver.
Now you need to unscrew the bolt that secures the heating element. All that remains is to remove the heating element. It must be pulled out carefully so as not to damage the tank. In modern washing machines, a thermistor (temperature sensor) is installed directly in the heating element.
They very rarely become unusable and there is almost certainly a working thermistor left in the non-working heating element. You can check it with the same tester. The resistance of the cold sensor is measured first and then the resistance of the sensor placed in hot water.
If these indicators differ significantly, the thermistor is working. This means that it can be installed on a new heating element. Moreover, if it is not equipped with a sensor.
There is no point in describing the reverse assembly process. Absolutely the same thing, but only in the opposite direction. When the assembly is complete, all that remains is to connect the washing machine back to the communications and check its functionality. All is ready.
This is how you can easily and without much difficulty replace the heating element of almost any automatic washing machine yourself. And the costs incurred for the purchase of a heating element are probably very different from the prices in the price list of the service company. Now you know that many types of washing machine repairs can be easily done with your own hands. Not such a difficult task.
Theory
To wash, the machine must be connected to a water supply to draw water and a power supply to heat it. The program you have chosen for washing regulates the temperature to which the heating element will heat the water.
Operating principle
Externally, the heater looks like a tube. Inside it there is a special nichrome or fechral wire, which heats up when current is applied. All free internal space of the tube is filled with a dielectric, which transfers heat from the wire to the walls of the heater. To supply electricity to the nichrome thread, the tube is soldered to the contact pad on which the terminals are located.
When the machine is turned on, the wire inside the element begins to heat up, and the heat spreads through the dielectric to the external environment and begins to heat the water in which the element is located. When the desired temperature is reached, the built-in sensor-relay or central control module turns off the current supply.
Specifications
- Power is the main indicator on which the speed of water heating depends. Typically around 2.2 W. The resistance also depends on the power, the normal value of which is from 20 to 40 Ohms.
- Element shape and length: depend on the specific model. The part can be straight or curved.
- Temperature sensor. If the water heater is not equipped with a temperature sensor, it is only suitable for washing machines where the sensors are installed separately.
- Coating made of stainless steel, non-ferrous metals or ceramics (ceramic heating element).
